Epics among Epics, The TOP 10 Over 10 minute Heavy Metal songs!

[Charger]

Okay I was thinking about doing a TOP 10 list again and was wondering about the topic and then I realised I hadn't done one ever with epic songs which clock over the 10 minute mark!

Some of the songs listed here are among some of the best songs ever written so it goes to show that length does sometimes mean quality too...

So here it is:


10. SOLITUDE AETURNUS : Embrace
 American Doom metal legends final album (before singer extraordinaire Robert Lowe joined Candlemass) had a bonus track which actually clocked over 10 minutes! It is also their longest song and an absolute masterpiece. Robert’s haunting vocals, John Perez’s epical riffing, tempo changes and the overall mood of the song is heavy as hell.

9. BENEDICTUM : Seasons Of Tragedy
   Benedictum had already proven that they were a force to be wreckoned with on their debut album Uncreation but they up the ante with their second album Seasons Of Tragedy and especially with the title track which is an epic monster of a track clocking in at nearly 12 minutes! Starting with a soft meditative chant and then kicking at full speed with a ferocisous riffing. Veronica Freeman’s incredible vocal preformance lifts this song right up and Pete Wells’ thundering riffs and stellar soloing make the song just fly by. If anyone has any doubts about just how amazing of a singer Veronica really is this song will put those doubts to rest once and for all, she is just mind blowingly good moving from soft gentle voice to an all out metal roar! Jeff Pilson (from Dokken and Dio) also makes an appearance on the track playing keyboards!!

8. IRON MAIDEN : Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
 Iron Maiden are no strangers to long tracks but this was their first one that topped 10 minutes, clocking actually just a tad under 14 minutes, which made this their longest track until the closing track on their 2015 album Book Of Souls, which is...well...not even worthy of shining the notes of this song.
Maiden had done galloping riff songs before this one, but here all the pieces fell into place and there are enough tempo changes to keep the song interesting (which is something that some of Maiden’s later works lacked) through out. Bruce Dickinson’s vocal preformance on this song is probably his best ever and the rest of the band is in top shape as well...This can be considered on of Maiden’s top works for sure and a corner stone of lengthy heavy metal tracks as well.

7. A SOUND OF THUNDER : My Name Is Doom (The Doctor Is In)
   Already on their first album these guys and gal delivered a song that would make most songs shiver in this comic book villain inspired masterpiece that clocks just over 10 minutes. Nina Osegueda’s vocal delivery is near perfect and incredibly powerful as she soars through the story of Doctor Doom from Fantastic Four. Josh Schwartz proved once and for all that he is a master songwriter and guitarist. Jesse Keen and Chris Haren deliver an extremely strong rythm section giving the song it’s underlying doom laden foundation. There aren’t too many bands that have been able to create a song this fantastic on their debut album...and this isn’t even their best track!

6. NIGHTWISH : The Poet And The Pendulum
   Nightwish had departed ways with their original singer Tarja Turunen and had found a replacement from a Swedish singer extraordinare Anette Olzon and their first album together Dark Passion Play turned out to be one of their best ones and what a track did they put as the album opener?! A near 14 minute epic which threw Anette right into the deep end of the pool and from the very first lines it is more than clear that not only did she float, but she swam like a dolphin, delivering a staggeringly amazing vocal preformance.
This track proved to be THE best song Nightwish had released up to that point, with so much going on in the song it will not open on the first few listens. There is softness, movie score like instrumentalisation and absolutely fierce heavy metal all rolled into one fantastic track. This is Nightwish at it’s absolute finest.

5. SAVATAGE : Morphine Child
  The 2000s saw a big change in the realm of progressive metallers Savatage as the album Poets And Madmen saw the return of Jon Oliva back behind the mic after the departure of Zak Stevens. Savatage was no stranger to long epical songs either, after all they had tracks like the masterful Chance and the thundering Hourglass under their belt, but this was the first time they clocked over the elusive 10 minute mark. Jon proved once again why he is one of Metal’s true greats with a vocal preformance that leaves nothing in guestion. The song also features a full choir and ofcourse the Savatage trademark layered vocals. Paul O’Neill’s lyrics are suberb and the musical genius of Jon Oliva, Paul O’Neill and Chris Caffery came to fruition in this masterpiece which is the centerpiece of what sadly was destined to become Savatage’s final album.

4. BLACK SABBATH : The Warning
 Kind of strangely Sabbath’s only over 10 minute song is from their first album and is in fact a COVER of an Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation song released few years earlier. Although the original song only clocked 3 and a half minutes and with Sabbath’s version clocking in at over 10 minutes...well it has quite a bit of original music in it...majority of which is from the incredible fingers of the greatest guitar player in the world mr. Tony Iommi as the focal point of the song is Tony’s monster guitar solo/jam. In fact for a long period Tony’s guitar is the only instrument heard, which is something that has never been repeated on any Black Sabbath (or hardly by any other band either) song other than a short acoustic instrumental.
Rumors has it that Tony actually went on jamming for over 30 minutes (!!) during the recording of this song but naturally they had to cut the song in order to fit the album. Tony Iommi proved already on his first album recording that his is a guitarist of extraordinary talent and as future years showed he went on and created some of the most iconic riffs (and solos) in music history...not to mention a genre called Heavy Metal.

3. IRON MAIDEN : Sign Of The Cross
  So this was kind of to be expected...to have two Iron Maiden songs on the list...it was meant to be I suppose. After 2 very weak albums and the departure of singer Bruce Dickinson the band found some new blood and creative force from former Wolfsbane singer Blaze Bayley who was vocally very different from Bruce with a much deeper, meatier and emotional voice. Harris adjusted the writing and also gave Blaze a lot of room to write lyrics and melodies which was somewhat surprising to many, but Blaze immediately proved to be a fantastic lyricist, better than Bruce ever was actually.
But I digress as the opening track of the fantastic X Factor album is all Harris. The 11 minute epic (which at the time was the second longest track the band had ever done) starts with a very soft choir chant which leads to a soft opening verse and then it blows out into an all out furious metal monster! Again though the main focus of the song are not the lyrical parts (which are brilliant I might add and Blaze’s delivery is flawless) but the long instrumental middle section which was not yet troubled by the over repetetive nature of Harris’ song writing, instead we have some very innovative solos and thundering riffs. I have already stated that this song will be played at my funeral because this is Iron Maiden at it’s absolute finest. Writing great instrumentals with lyrics.

2. ICED EARTH : The Devil To Pay
  Jon Schaffer poured his heart and soul into what became his magnum opus and one of the greatest pieces of music ever written; the Gettysburg Trilogy. The opening part of the trilogy is the best and it incorporates some amazing musical passages, orchestrations, choirs and ofcourse the absolutely amazing vocal preformance by Tim “Ripper” Owens who had already proven to the world that he is someone to be taken seriously by fronting one of Metal’s giants Judas Priest but it is on this album and especially this song where he steps right into the very exclusive club of worlds greatest singers of all time.
Storywise this tells the events of the first day of battle at Gettysburg on July 1st  1863 and Jon managed to create some incredible lyrics and music which perfectly fits the story. It also includes one of my favourite orchestral songs When Johnny Comes Marching Home as a tribute to the fallen Union General John Reynolds who was gunned down by a Confederate sniper.
The musical journey this song takes the listener is unlike anything I’ve ever heard...well that goes for the entire trilogy actually. This is 12 minutes of pure perfection.



1. DEEP PURPLE : Child In Time
  And then it is time for the #1 and to no ones surprise this place is taken by one of the greatest songs ever written in the history of music, Deep Purple’s biggest epic taken from their first album with one of history’s greatest singers Ian Gillan, In Rock. Child In Time starts with a soft organ intro which then leads to the very short first (and ONLY) verse sung to perfection by Ian who slowly picks up the pace and power of his delivery as the verse goes on culminating to some of the best and fiercest screaming ever caught on an album.
Then comes one of the best instrumental parts in heavy metal’s / hard rock’s history with Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore firing on all cylinders with such thunderous fury that it has not been matched by anyone since and most likely never will be.
Again this is a song that is more of (like Ian always likes to put it) an instrumental with words than your average lyrically driven song with verse/chorus structure which probably played a part in why it has become such a classic, it is so different. Songs like this just aren’t being made anymore...



Naturally with only 10 songs some had to be left out that I do like...including Type O Negative's The Profit Of Doom, Cathedral's The Garden and The Voyage Of The Homeless Sapien (which both actually clock over 20(!!!!) minutes...well they will be included if I'll ever make a top list of over 15 minute long songs (can't think of 10 though)...


That was my list now give me yours and lets discuss!!

[Axefiend]

I don't think I can give my picks the articulation you did, but here's my list:

10 - The Doors - When The Music's Over
9 - Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun
8 - The Guess Who - Friends Of Mine
7 - Bill Ward - The Wall Of Death
6 - Frank Zappa  - The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution
5 - Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond
4 - Jane's Addiction - Three Days
3 - Uriah Heep - Paradise/The Spell
2 - Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Stand
1 - Rush - Cygnus X-1 (Book II)

That's about as close as I can get to naming Ten, 10 minute+ "Heavy Metal" tracks.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I'm going to widen the scope a little because some of my favourites are not necessaruly Rock/Metal:

10. Foetus - Slung (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnn-L1utCS8)
9. Iron Maiden - Rime of the Ancient Mariner
8. Kate Bush - The Ninth Wave (The Hounds of Love Side 2)
7. The Damned - Curtain Call
6. Marillion - Grendel
5. Yes - Gates of Delirium
4. Rush - Xanadu
3. Yes - Awaken
2. Rush - 2112
1. Iced Earth - Gettysburg 1863 (I don't treat them as separate songs!)

Honourable mentions:
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Karn Evil 9
The Damned - Dark Asteroid
Helloween - Halloween
Some other Yes and Rush songs too numerous to mention!!

[Charger]

Great to see the love for Gettysburg there Kilo! I was pondering about the same thing whether to consider Gettysburg as a single track or as individual tracks but decided to go with individual tracks as they were split that way.

Oh man I forgot to give a mention to 2112 here! I did so on my facebook though...

[Sicko FanAtic]

Nice choices here, and some that I now must discover.

My list ( as they occur to me and avoiding any already picked), mainly prog rock

King Crimson - Starless

King Crimson - Fracture

Genesis - The Musical Box

Jethro Tull - This as a Brick (part one)

Pink Floyd - Echoes

Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells (side one), well except the dumb part at the end where he names all the instruments...

Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Take a Pebble

Nektar - Recycled

Alice Cooper - Second Coming/Ballad of Dwight Frye/Sunarise (maybe that's cheating?)

Frank Zappa - The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Great to see the love for Gettysburg there Kilo! I was pondering about the same thing whether to consider Gettysburg as a single track or as individual tracks but decided to go with individual tracks as they were split that way.

Oh man I forgot to give a mention to 2112 here! I did so on my facebook though...

I know they are technically separate tracks but they are essentially just one song. BTW Gettysburg would also be number 1 on a list of songs which include an orchestra... but I would have difficulty coming up with a top 10


For those not familiar with Marillion's 'Grendel' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxp5KJOHqmI
Or The Damned's 'Curtain Call' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d66rCCoAJB0

[Zzzptm]

Nice choices here, and some that I now must discover.

My list ( as they occur to me and avoiding any already picked), mainly prog rock

I challenge you to find 10 prog rock songs *under* ten minutes that are not part of an overall "suite".

[Billy Underdog]

I challenge you to find 10 prog rock songs *under* ten minutes that are not part of an overall "suite".

Going for Crimson only, and i even managed to get all under 5 mins. Didn't even cheat with intros/preludes. HAH! 

Cadence and Cascade - 4:35
Cat Food - 4:52
Happy Family - 4:22
Lady of the Dancing Water - 2:47
Book of Saturday - 2:53
The Great Deceiver - 4:02
Lament - 4:00
We'll Let You Know - 3:46
The Night Watch - 4:37
The Mincer - 4:10

Even found suites under 10 min.
Epitaph - 8:49
March for No Reason
Tomorrow and Tomorrow

The Court of the Crimson King - 9:26
The Return of the Fire Witch
The Dance of the Puppets

Could easily've included alot more tunes and other bands. Pink Floyd without a doubt.

[Zzzptm]

Well played, Mr. Underdog. Well played.

Now we must debate if a song can truly be prog rock if it's not a suite or over 10 minutes in length...

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Marillion are considered prog, but I can only think of one song (certainly from the early Fish lead albums) that exceeded 10 minutes (Grendel at 17 minutes which wasn't an album track until the B-Sides Themselves collection was released). The first two albums only had 13 tracks between them, but there was nothing longer than 8 minutes and certainly no "suites". But then again this was the 80s when excess was reigned in.

[Zzzptm]

Marillion are considered prog, but I can only think of one song (certainly from the early Fish lead albums) that exceeded 10 minutes (Grendel at 17 minutes which wasn't an album track until the B-Sides Themselves collection was released). The first two albums only had 13 tracks between them, but there was nothing longer than 8 minutes and certainly no "suites". But then again this was the 80s when excess was reigned in.

So they were punk-prog?

[Charger]

Progressive bands have a lot of long songs for sure...But I for one am not a big progressive fan. They get bit tedious over time...

[Zzzptm]

So I suppose we should get back to the metal/hard rock discussion.

[Ted Sallis]

I certainly agree with the Deep Purple and Black Sabbath choices in the 1st post above; the lists that follow start to deviate from HM bands as it is difficult to find 10 songs from the genre which clock in at 10+ minutes in length.  With that fact in mind, I'm only going to list 1 song at this time, the  original version of which wouldn't qualify as it clocks in just shy of the 10 minute mark.

Metallica - The Outlaw Torn (unencumbered by manufacturing restrictions version).

Ted

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

Metallica - The Outlaw Torn (unencumbered by manufacturing restrictions version).

Ted

I love me some Outlaw Torn... it certainly fades too soon on Load, where do you get an unrestricted version?